Humanities & Society

A district judge’s decision to overturn California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage technically puts the issue one step away from the U.S. Supreme Court. But Washington University in St. Louis experts say a final ruling may wait until other, similar cases work their way through the legal system.

The Senate’s approval of Elena Kagan as a U.S. Supreme Court justice marks the first time three women will serve together and gives the court its youngest member, among other shifts.

Missouri is getting national attention with the Aug. 3 Proposition C referendum on  federal health care reform. But Timothy D. McBride, PhD, associate dean for public health at the Brown School, says no matter the outcome, the vote will have little impact on the new health care law.

The Brown School has received a five-year, $2 million Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development award. The grant will fund research led by Patricia Kohl, PhD, to test the Pathways Triple P parent-training program in the high-risk child welfare population.

Matthew J. Gabel, PhD, professor of political science in Arts & Sciences, has been awarded a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. The award will support his work on judicial decision-making in the European Union.

A new Undergraduate Honors Program will be offered beginning this fall semester at University College, the adult, evening and continuing education division in Arts & Sciences. The honors program offers high-achieving students the opportunity to join a learning community dedicated to an exceptionally rigorous but flexible program of study that enables students to work closely with a faculty mentor on an independent project and earn the distinction of Latin honors.

A new bachelor of science in health care will be offered this fall semester at University College, the adult, evening and continuing education division in Arts & Sciences. The degree program, which begins with the start of the semester Aug. 31, provides an academic foundation for students pursuing managerial, clinical or research careers in health care.

A new degree, the bachelor of science in sustainability, that provides an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and resolving today’s most pressing and complex environmental, economic and social challenges, has been developed at University College, the adult, evening and continuing education division in Arts & Sciences. The program, which will be offered beginning with the start of the semester Aug. 31, treats sustainable living from multiple perspectives — scientific, political, economic, social, historical, philosophical, anthropological and literary. 

The U.S. Justice Department lawsuit filed July 6 against Arizona’s controversial new immigration law will likely see partial success, according to a Washington University in St. Louis law professor. But he predicts the legal battle will extend beyond Arizona.

Washington University is hosting its fourth ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp June 20-July 2 for 48 middle school students from St. Louis City, County and Metro East schools. The free two-week residential camp offers innovative programs to enhance middle school students’ science and math knowledge. Former NASA astronaut and camp namesake Bernard A. Harris Jr., MD, will visit the campers from 10 a.m. to noon June 30 in Holmes Lounge, Ridgley Hall.